Denial of personal hearing breached natural justice, making the adjudication unsustainable and requiring remand for fresh decision.

Denial of a requested personal hearing at the adjudication stage violated the principles of natural justice, and the subsequent appellate consideration could not cure that defect. The adjudication was decided only on the written reply and record despite the specific hearing request, so both the adjudication and appellate orders were unsustainable and were set aside. The matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority for fresh decision in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the adjudication order could be sustained when the appellant was denied a personal hearing despite a specific request, thereby violating the principles of natural justice.

Analysis: The dispute centred on the adjudicating authority deciding the matter only on the basis of the reply and record, even though the appellant had specifically sought a personal hearing. The appellate authority also did not address this procedural defect. The availability of a hearing at the appellate stage could not cure the denial of hearing at the adjudication stage, as the latter was the stage at which the appellant was entitled to be heard.

Conclusion: The adjudication and appellate orders were unsustainable for breach of natural justice and were set aside. The matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority for fresh decision in accordance with law.

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